


How to Play as Rain, or How to Not go Crazy Until You Need to.

by twistedButterfly (aquaticNecris)



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Gen, Guide, Madness, Rain, Replay Value AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-06-20
Updated: 2015-07-31
Packaged: 2017-12-14 23:00:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,170
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/842347
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aquaticNecris/pseuds/twistedButterfly
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A detailed guide as to how to play Rain. ((Coming bonus: How to Survive the Rain!))</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One, Skills and Introduction

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Sburb Glitch FAQ](https://archiveofourown.org/works/340777) by [GodsGiftToGrinds](https://archiveofourown.org/users/GodsGiftToGrinds/pseuds/GodsGiftToGrinds). 



 

 

 

 

 

First, let me say a few things. I was, am, and tend to be a Rain player. I write this in the middle of my fourth session as Rain. I know the intricacies of madness, and I have stared into the abyss until it has fled in terror. Rain players do this alot, most just don't get to see. Rain's real power is in control. Holding back the crazy until you can let it all loose. Build it up, hold it back, let it go. Don't get me wrong, you'll be crazy most of the time. The baseline for madness is set pretty high for us.

** So You're the Something of Rain **

****

  
Good for you! Eventually, you will be able to warp everything around you into a twisted melty rainbow version of itself.  But let's not get ahead of ourselves.The first thing you should know about Rain is that you are going to go mad. No, there is no way to prevent this. You will go insane at some point in your journey, often early on. Unless you're an inheritor, but more on that later. It's going to happen, and oddly enough, you are going to not just like it, but love it.

See, madness is like the greatest drug ever. And your aspect pumps you full of it. Once you go crazy, you do NOT want to go back.  However, you aren't in control. But you are. It's weird. Rainbow bullshit is a fun term and works well. I will use it often.  
 Rainbow Bullshit, that stuff that happens when you use [Neon Ice Cream Headache], is the true power of Rain. Pure, condensed crazy. This stuff is EXTREMELY dangerous. Don't point it at anyone not a threat, as much as you want to. And you will want to, you're crazy. This is one of the biggest challenges, not  attacking EVERYONE. Often times the Voices will tell you to attack them. It is their nature, most of the time.

I'm not going to beat around the bush here. You are Rain. Rain! You can do things that are quite simply insane. You can be, at the same time, the most dangerous and the most harmless thing in  the medium. Even better, your powers grow from the contradiction.  You can do some of the things hope can, without the requirement of denial. You can sometimes time travel because why the fuck not rainbows. You can do the windy thing because rainbowbullshit. But none of it means jack shit if you don't have any control.

Keeping all that power is a tough deal, and due to the jerkish nature of this game you probably either have a weak will or are naturally aggressive. Good luck! Nah, I won't leave you hanging like that. I've found treats, happy things, and most importantly, [Solitude] can all help you keep it under control. You like cats? Find cats, lots of kittys. Become a crazy cat lady if you must. Surround yourself in calming things. Smile alot. If you find your self at the brink of disaster and unable to stop yourself, activate [Solitude].

Moving on, Rain is about random. A lot of your powers will deal random damage. Try to pair off to the light or law players when the going gets tough. Remember that dupliclones are your friends. On that note, let's move to skills, shall we? Once that is done, we can move to the harder parts. Like dupliclones, time travel, and accidentally doing the Mist thing (And how to put yourself back together afterwards!).

 

 

 

 

 

 

** SKILLS **

****

**  
** It would be impossible to list every skill for rain. Absolutely impossible. As you tried, more would exist, due to Rain's hatred of being figured out. The more you know about Rain the more you don't know. This is good. [Confusion is power]. Remember that. It's important. So I will instead list the ones that I have gotten every time, and the ones I've seen others get. If you note a lack of high level skills, that's because Rain actually has fewer high level skills. Don't worry, this isn't that much of a weakness. You got rainbowbullshit my friend.

 

[Confusion is Power] The most often overlooked power a Rain player has, it's also the first they ever get, and that which fuels most of their power. This takes all that confusing bullshit you do and makes you more powerful for it. The more confusing, the better. I've seen this ignored by a few Rain players, but once I got them to activate it, they were way more powerful.

 

[It's Good to be Mad] This is a mid game power that is bugged, and often shows up early. Be warned, do not use it if you get it before your denizen dies. If you do, you cannot turn it off. It autocasts [Rainbow Valley] on any ally within range. Once your denizen dies it is safe.

 

[Mad Genius] A passive buff that makes things you alchemize work a little bit different. Don't alchemize anthing food related for anyone else.

 

[Neon Ice Cream Headache] One of the earliest powers you get. Creates and allows control over your rainbow bullshit. Don't let anyone eat it.

 

[Lifdoff] A useful skill that makes your combat skills go up as you laugh in combat. Can be infectous.

 

[Guidelines of Physics] This skill is often mistaken for a rainbowbullshitted Stars gravity power. It's not. Once you get this, the laws of physics become optional. I like to turn off my gravity. I met one girl who combined this with [Prismatic Heat] to turn into rainbow bullshit.

 

[Solitude] Ah, good old [Solitude]. This is literally your greatest skill. It allows you to retreat into your own mind, see and process everything at the sound  of thought, and apply more control during a streak of madness. More on this beauty later.

 

[Sunshine] This is a bugged skill. Whenever I use it I become blind for a few hours.  Don't bother unless you REALLY need to be blind. I suspect it was intended to blind everyone around us with rainbows, but got turned around somehow.

 

[Prismatic Heat] Imagine a heat wave, but a rainbow. Glorious, and great for toasting bread. Melts most metal, burns most flesh. Underlings are easy to singe '. Late game ability.

 

[Requiem of Sunshine and Rainbows] One of our most powerful tricks. This is our berserk trigger. Later I will teach you how to activate it whenever you feel like it. Yeah. We can do that. Why? Rainbowbullshit.

 

[Lose Yourself] This one is fun. If you have a player going into berserk mode and you're sane enough to remember, slap them with this. It will auto[Solitude] them. Yeah. Happy place!

 

[Chaos] A useful trick up our sleeves. Causes the randomness that is often attributed to Rain players. Combined with [Guidelines of Physics] you can pretty much get everywhere whenever.

 

[Taste the Rainbow] You have probably seen Rain players  shove their hands into Underlings' mouths'? This is that. Hand goes in, hand makes rainbowbullshit, everyone lives happily ever after. Or not.

 

[Sunshine Playtime] If you love [Solitude], you will ADORE this ability. It lets you pull the target into your Solitude, allowing you to either murderize a foe or save an ally. Yeah. Awesome, right?

 

[Psychogenesis] If [Chaos] is the source of the random, and [Guidelines of Physics] is the stand keeping it up, this is the glue holding it all together. This skill lets you alchemize things without your alchemizer, Yup. Be warned tho, it has either a large recharge time or a large cost. It changes. Randoooom!

  
[Hardchorale] This is why people often laugh when they fight alongside Rain. Infects them with Lifdoff. Yes that's right, infects. It can spread like a disease. Sometimes.

 

[Tangled Waltz] Finally. Dupliclones. All Dupliclones are the real you. You are all of them. Controlling them is easy and hard. [Solitude] is your bestest friend. More on this later.

 

[Join Me In My Descent] This is a good skill to use on higher level enemies. It lets you take the rainbow bullshit and slam down a column of it onto your foe. Massive damage.

 

[Madness is in Everyone] This. This! If you ever wondered how the Rain player was doing YOUR thing, this is it. It causes power bleed that leads to the Rain player, allowing them access to the powers of others. I've heard tells of high level Rain players getting [Red Miles]. I'd say I didn't believe it, except, well, rainbowbullshit. Needless to say, if your rain player says that he has it, best to at least humor them. A lot.

 

[Euphoria Waltz] This is a Dupliclone skill. Yeah, bet you didn't know there were more than one. This one starts boosting all the clones that are fighting alongside each other, making them better and better and better. Yeah. Used right this is awesome.

 

[Missed Me] Rainbow bullshitize yourself and appear at the location of some other rainbow bullshit. Useful when you're in a bad situation. Throw rainbow bullshit off away, and use this to get away fast. Long recharge.

  
[Hit Me Now] Creates images of yourself around you, then swaps you with one at random. Great way to fuck up long distance enemies.

 

[Rainbow Curse] Oh, you are going to like this. This is a toggle skill. As long as you have it on you have a minor debuff to sanity. Yeah. However, your hands become rainbow bullshit. Oh fuck yes. You can, literally, leave a melting mark on anything you touch. ANYthing. Even the Black King. (DISCLAIMER: I do not suggest going and slapping the Black King. It may be bad for your health.)

 

[Cactus Cactus Pinata] One of the many oddly named skills you will possess. Also one of the coolest. Allows you to rainbow bullshitize yourself and walk through many game abstractions. DISCLAIMER VERY IMPORTANT: Do NOT under ANY circumstances de-rainbow bullshitize yourself inside of something. You WILL die. Also note that this deals rainbow damage to enemies and players alike.

  
[Rainbow Valley] This one is nice. It adds a touch of madness to your allies. It can be the most useful thing ever, or the worst. Use it wisely.

[Crazy Rain] This one is funny. Makes in rain random things. These things range from godlike superweapons to adorable kittens. You can never be quite sure what you will get.

[As We Are] This can be great, and it can be horrible. Use on enemies when you are in a downswing, and allies when you’re up and bright. It grants the target your mental state, as you are exactly when cast, and then forces you into the opposite. If you’re bouncy and happy, you become dark and moody. And vice versa. Use to mediate your mood as well. Do not use too often, AWA addiction is a REALLY bad thing, especially when you aren’t rain anymore.

[Sky Is No Limit] Raises you to the sky, and slams you down into a million rainbow pieces. Use only when alone. Allies WILL be hit. Reforming takes time and focus, use [Solitude] to speed things up. Mid tier skill.

[Evolution Of Battle] Exclusive to the Knight of Rain. Makes you an unstoppable badass... Then locks you into [Solitude] and sends your body into a blind rage. Warn your friends.

[Paint The Air]  
Sends a scatter of rainbow bullshit in front of you. Hits allies, but heals them rather than hurts. However, is bugged, and infects them with [lifdoff]

[Fractal psychosis]  
Creates a hammer of rainbow bullshit that shatters the mind of anything hit. Players can recover, but it's an unpleasant experience. It also leaves a mild bit of madness behind. A nervous tick, a mild twitch, nothing too dangerous, but avoid hitting your allies too often or it WILL stack up.

[Cupcake Surprise.]  
Creates an imaginary treat in your [Solitude]. If you eat it you turn into rainbow bullshit for ten seconds, (or your species equivalent) per bite. If you hold it for a few seconds, you explode into rainbow bullshit. As with many Rain powers don't use near allies.

[Snapped Mind, Shattered Soul]  
Drives you totally insane for as long as your target lives, which won't be long, as it also cripples ALL of their stats. WARNING: IF YOU DIE THE TARGET GAINS ALL YOUR STATS AND SKILLS!!!!!

[ANARCHY]  
This is an awesome skill, but it only gets really good late game. It starts out swapping health with a random stat, but after your denizen dies it upgrades, and swaps all the stats of everything around you. Yeah, totally fucking awesome!

[Corpse Rain]  
Well named, this skill raises everything in range into the sky and slams it all back down all within three feet of the Rain player.

[False Recovery]  
This skill is an odd one. It allows a dupliclone Kiss you back to life, which is technically unnecessary, but can save you a lot of pain when you merge back. However, it forcibly reduces your max clones by one, and merges the two involved clones, which can result in some power fluctuations. Also, you can not reduce your max below seven. Fortunately, the first time you use it, you become painfully aware of EXACTLY how many clones you can have. If you know you can have a bunch, it may be worth it to risk death more than usual so you can use this and learn your exact limit.

[Moonlight Madness, Sunshine Serenity]  
WARNING: DO NOT USE UNLESS ABSOLUTELY NEEDED! ONCE ACTIVATED IT CANNOT BE TURNED OFF!  
This skill binds you to both moons, which sounds great in theory, but cause a couple of really big changes in how your resurrection and powers work. Firstly, you now appear as your dreamself at the nearest moon. Secondly, you need to be kissed twice. BE SURE TO INFORM YOUR OTHER PLAYERS!! Thirdly, the closer you are to Prospit, the stronger your burning skills are, but your madness skills become weaker. The inverse is true for Derse. NOTE: This creates a deadzone where NONE of your skills work. Again, don't use unless ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY.

 

  
These are certainly not all the powers you can acquire, not even a large chunk of them. However, these are the more important ones.  Be sure to use them often. I'll see you next chapter!


	2. Dupliclones, or Dancing With Yourself!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A quick introduction to Dupliclones, and tips on how not to kill yourself.

Lets take this chapter to talk about the most easily noticed power of rain players. [Tangled Waltz] is the ability that allows you to create more of yourself. These are all the real you. At the same time, you are all of them. The lowest maximum number of dupliclones I’ve ever seen a rain player carry is 6, for a total of 7 of them. One time I saw a rain player who only ever had one, until the end when he split into hundreds. Kind of an impressive sight. As far as I know, there is no way of telling what the maximum maximum number of clones is.  
Not that it matters. Just having the one makes us crazy awesome. You see, being crazy is the kind of thing that amplifies itself. The more crazy you have in one spot, the crazier it’s gonna get.  
A common mistake many rain players make is assuming they will be friends with all their dupliclones. DON’T. Are there aspects of yourself that annoy you, that you’d like the change? Imagine those aspects multiplied by 7. Yeah. And then, after the split, each clone’s madness splits off in different ways. Yes it is complicated. No I can’t explain how you remain the same person/people. Rainbowbullshit, most likely.

Each clone is you. You are each clone. This means a multitude of things. Firstly, really they aren’t clones. They ARE you. Just ever so slightly not you, enough that there are more of them than one and they can coexist with only slight paradox which is possible because rainbowbullshit. Secondly, when you activate solitude, you are in control of each clone directly. Third, when one of you dies, you all feel it. And it hurts. Let me tell you it feels like being ripped apart with little ant pincers. Fourth, they all gain power and skills separately. More on that later. Keep all these things in mind.

*IMPORTANT NOTE* If you are a knight, and can at all help it, do not dupliclone! It is bugged, and when you eventually fall to Knight Syndrome, and you will, don’t lie, all your clones will turn on each other. Yeah. Not fun. 

The most powerful thing about dupliclones is one of their bugs. I assume its a bug. It would be hilariously op otherwise. When you merge with your self, you gain all the experience and power that each clone collected. Yeah. You just multiplied your individual awesomeness. But thats not the best part.

When you recast [Tangled Waltz] each clone is made from your current power. Yes. They get bigger and stronger than before. Probably a bug, but one of the few working in your favor. Now, don’t think you should abuse this. Casting Tangled Waltz too often will, I mean WILL without fail, turn you into a pile of goop. Not fun. So far, the most I’ve seen safely done is 6 times. Meaning you should risk at worst 3.

Some people wonder if the clones are in mental contact with each other. No. They aren’t. Usually. More on that in a moment.

Remember, you WILL argue with yourself. Embrace this madness. It will make you better. Might even be good for your mental health. I dunno. Moving on!

Rain is NOT a team player type. Which causes issues. Remember that if you, any one of you calls for regroup, all of the others WILL drop what they are doing. Pretty sure it’s something enforced by [Tangled Waltz]. So try to check before you do that. If you remember.

That’s all there is for you to know about Dupliclones for now. Coming up next, a few skills that deserve to be separated from the rest due to various reasons!


	3. Solitude, or Going to Your Happy Place

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A list of how and when to use the wonderful skill [Solitude]. And when NOT to use it.

As I said earlier, [Solitude] is the greatest skill you get. It's one of the few easily accessible, and nonrandomized skills you get that GIVES you control rather than takes it away. Casting [Solitude] causes you to retreat into your own mind, and gives you the chance to think through EVERYTHING, as you are functioning at the speed of thought. It gives you the leisure to stop and think, even in the throes of insanity. [Solitude] is not PERFECT however, as you remain insane even then. It helps, but does not solve all your problems.  
Even better, any mind affecting ability will not work on you at ALL while you are in [Solitude], as your mind is cut off from everything outside. As well, it is one of the few non passive skills that works in the deadzone that is created by [Sunshine Serenity, Moonlight Madness].  
[Solitude] HAS A TIME LIMIT. That limit changes over time, but once it runs out you are forcibly booted back out of your happy place. You can go back in, but until it has some time to recharge, you will only be able to stay in for a few seconds realtime.

When should you use [Solitude]:  
When you have gone Berserk.  
Against any Queen or King.  
When an ally has gone Berserk and you need to decide between dropkick, hug, or running.  
When a dupliclone dies. It will not stop the pain, but might let you react fast enough to use [False Recovery] so you don't lose any skills or experience.  
When you use [Hit Me Now] So you can choose which image you become.  
ALWAYS use it when you use [Euphoria Waltz]! Always! If you do not, you will be UNABLE to come down from the high on your own, and it can be remarkably hard for your allies to dropkick all 7+ of you at once, which is the only way to forcibly cancel the skill.  
After you cast [Cupcake Surprise]  
Before you cast [Sunshine Playtime]

When not to use [Solitude]:  
When you have no dupliclones and are dying. This will trap you inside your non dreamself mind and then you might be screwed.  
When you are arguing with allies.  
When you are your dreamself.  
When you are in contact with your dreamself somehow.  
When your dreamself is dead.  
Before you cast [Cupcake Surprise]  
After you cast [Sunshine Playtime]

So, if you note, there are a variety of situations involving dreamselves where you should not use [Solitude]. This is because dreamselves interact badly with [Solitude], and can end up trapped in your head... or vice versa. It is reversible, IF you have a Mind player of moderate skill. Be careful though.  
Also note that you should cast this BEFORE [Sunshine Playtime], but AFTER [Cupcake Surprise]. Be sure to always do this right, you don't want to give your foe an advantage in your mind, and you DON'T want to lose that treat in your fucked up brain.

A few more oddities of [Solitude]:  
While in [Solitude], you should probably not try to talk. Hearing your voice in slowmo is more disconcerting than you might think.  
While in [Solitude], pay close attention to the ground of your happy place. The more stable it is, the longer you can stay in [Solitude].  
To manually exit [Solitude] you simply need walk off the edge of your happy place, into the rainbowbullshit.  
[Solitude] gives you single minded control of all your dupliclones, linking your minds into one for the duration, but not merging. You cannot argue with your dupliclones in [Solitude]. To easily command all your dupliclones, envision the scene of battle and then imagine the maneuvers you wish to execute. All of you will do your best to do what you want. This is why many non Rain players think dupliclones are in mental communication.  
You can cast [Solitude] so that each clone is separate. Simply activate it from inside [Solitude]. This is how you should cast it during [Euphoria Waltz] for maximum effectiveness.  
You can change what’s inside your [Solitude] by casting psychogenesis.

And that’s all you need to know about [Solitude]!


	4. Null Sequitur, or Going, Going, Gone Mad!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A quick guide to Rain's interaction with the Roleplaying system.

This chapter shall be all about [Null Sequitur], which is both a skill and not a skill. It is actually an option on your maturity quests which only Rain (And sometimes Mist) has access to. It is the option of doing the silly thing. Being absurd in the face of adulthood. Forgetting personal growth and instead cultivating your internal child. In short, it is substituting madness for character growth. Rather than acknowledge problems, you play with them, perhaps having tea parties or a game of tag! You wander off while the old man speaks, you explore your darkest depths with finger painting, and throw eggs at the moons because you feel like it! You don't **have** to make sense, so _don't!_

But wait, there's more! [Null Sequitur] is also a skill to, a passive one. What it does is takes how random you are, and adds it to your roleplay coefficient. The less predictable you become, the stronger your madness boost is! Chaos is power, predictability is weakness. This means a lot of things, but right now we care about one in particular. Do not ONLY take the [Null Sequitur] options. Every time you take it in any sort of pattern, and I do mean ANY, you get a smaller boost. Rather quickly, if you rely too heavily on it, you will begin loosing power instead of gaining. To counter this, change things up. Rain encourages CONSTANT partner switching. 

Warning: You may feel like you should warn other players about whatever silliness you may perform. If you can help it, and it is at all safe, DON'T! Doing so creates predictability, which weakens your [Null Sequitur]. So, when possible, vanish without warning, appear unexpectedly, and leave only confusion in your wake. If your teammates are smart, they'll thank you bemusedly and carry on!

So, knowing this, how best to take advantage of the bonuses provided by [Null Sequitur], you may ask. In my experience, don't plan on it. Don't plan anything, not even your next action, when you are attempting [Null Sequitur]. The only exceptions here are the Titles all about planning. For those, instead make a plan so insane, in some way, that it **shouldnot, _cannot,_** _**willnot**  _ work. Then make it work anyway! The stranger and more absurd the plan is, the better. Stay away from Law AND Light players, however. They both control random chance, which hurts you badly.

[Null Sequitur] will not help you against either your Denizen OR the Nightmare Heir. Sorry, it sucks, but you can't bullshit either of those away. Tip: While both of these SUCK and you will hate doing them, you must maintain your unpredictability. Use your madness buffs on yourself post-Denizen. Trust me, it will help a lot. As to the NH... I'll get to that another time. Onto the next chapter!


End file.
